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Okay so the month of April I claimed successfully from TERS. Under level 4 we were able to return to work, but only a third of my staff. So I have staff rotating on alternate days (one day on, one day off) plus closing early on days that don't justify staying open. According to the RMI, I can only claim for people NOT EARNING ANY INCOME during the Lockdown. I cannot get an answer on where I can get SOME relief for those willing to work. Also the TERS website isn't open for claims as yet. Anybody here have any idea where I can get some money for my staff (and myself, not drawing a salary currently)? RMI suggested normal UIF benefits, but I do not know how to go about this.

Did you upload the file using pipe separator as their document requests, or was your CSV file separated with actual commas?

I did it with the CSV file and using the pipe separators. Fortunately the file was generated by my payroll software, so it was a pretty simple exercise in my case.

I have heard that if there are any errors with the CSV file, the only way to correct it is doing the line-by-line-online add employee process.

I must also point out that my "successful application" was a month ago now. Who knows how much the process may have changed since? In the case of my electrical company, there still is no sign of a TERS payout - although that was via a Bargaining Council and apparently that process is still yet to see any meaningful success.

Okay so the month of April I claimed successfully from TERS. Under level 4 we were able to return to work, but only a third of my staff. So I have staff rotating on alternate days (one day on, one day off) plus closing early on days that don't justify staying open. According to the RMI, I can only claim for people NOT EARNING ANY INCOME during the Lockdown. I cannot get an answer on where I can get SOME relief for those willing to work. Also the TERS website isn't open for claims as yet. Anybody here have any idea where I can get some money for my staff (and myself, not drawing a salary currently)? RMI suggested normal UIF benefits, but I do not know how to go about this.

I strongly suggest you stick with TERS applications for as long as you can. You can still apply if the reduction in remuneration is as a consequence of the COVID-19 restrictions. You just need to report "normal" remuneration and what you actually paid in the application. TERS will top up as per their rules (which as per a previous post of mine has improved some when it comes to partial payments).

The advantage of TERS is it doesn't count as a claim event against the employee. This means other types of claim benefits they may have to make a little down the road will not have been prejudiced or reduced by the TERS claim.

I strongly suggest you stick with TERS applications for as long as you can. You can still apply if the reduction in remuneration is as a consequence of the COVID-19 restrictions. You just need to report "normal" remuneration and what you actually paid in the application. TERS will top up as per their rules (which as per a previous post of mine has improved some when it comes to partial payments).

The advantage of TERS is it doesn't count as a claim event against the employee. This means other types of claim benefits they may have to make a little down the road will not have been prejudiced or reduced by the TERS claim.

Hi Dave A,
Did your employee information show on the website after you uploaded the CSV file?
I've uploaded it twice this week, Monday and again Wednesday, but it still shows 'No Employees Found. Add Employees'
Each time I got an email stating that the upload was successful, but I have my doubts....

Did you upload the file using pipe separator as their document requests, or was your CSV file separated with actual commas?
Apologies for all the questions.....thanks.

Go to STATUS and if it says that the CSV was unsuccessful, rather upload manually.
I've done about 26 applications and all the CSV's was accepted, but the last two just don't want to upload correctly, so I think they might have changed something on the validations of the CSV.
I've uploaded manually on Thursday, and the employer showed processed straight away.

I did it with the CSV file and using the pipe separators. Fortunately the file was generated by my payroll software, so it was a pretty simple exercise in my case.

I have heard that if there are any errors with the CSV file, the only way to correct it is doing the line-by-line-online add employee process.

I must also point out that my "successful application" was a month ago now. Who knows how much the process may have changed since? In the case of my electrical company, there still is no sign of a TERS payout - although that was via a Bargaining Council and apparently that process is still yet to see any meaningful success.

27 May 2020
​The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) apologises for the freak break in its network which has affected plans to capture the May Covid-19 TERS online applications.

The system which has been undergoing test run since last week was due to go live on Tuesday May 26, 2020 but a damaged fibre link between the UIF’s offices and the State Information and Technology Agency (SITA) put paid to those plans.

"We would like to apologise to all our stakeholders and particularly our clients for this unfortunate turn of events and the resultant delays. We are doing everything in our power to ensure that the problem is resolved today so that we can start processing May applications immediately. The fault of connectivity in Pretoria is due to a damaged fibre cable that links the UIF to the SITA’s datacenter", said the UIF Commissioner Teboho Maruping.

The UIF promises to ensure that once the link has been restored, it will do all it can to try and catch up on the time lost. The UIF’s ICT system development team is on standby to ensure that as soon as the connectivity is re-established the system goes live.

"We have received an avalanche of complaints because of this and we understand how this could be frustrating to our clients and stakeholders. I would like to assure each and every one of those who have been negatively affected that this was beyond our hands but will try to make up. It should be noted that in the last two months we have had peak traffic as a result of our lockdown relief benefits. In general we have managed to keep our heads above water under those circumstances and there is no reason why we will not push ourselves to do our utmost to catch up", Commissioner Maruping concluded.

He promised that the UIF will make a public announcement once the system has been restored.